Mr King lives in the rural village of Narraghmore, Co Kildare, and he said that the emergence of the compensation package – so close to the announcement of an independent review of whether the pylons can go underground – was a matter of concern.

"We are concerned with EirGrid announcing that yesterday, as we feel that announcement undermines the basis of the commission," he said.

He also questioned "why are they announcing a compensation package when the commission has just been set up?", as he doesn't feel "it is the right time for it".

"We would rather wait and see what the indepen-dent review comes out with, to see where we are," he said.

The proposed pylon's would "skim the edge of Narraghmore", and be erected less than 100 metres from the outskirts of the rural village.

Mr King initially became involved with the Gridlink Action Group in Co Kildare, as he felt that it just "wasn't right for the country".

He is now the secretary of the recently formed Pylon Alternative Alliance group, which represents organisations from eight counties in the south and east of the country.